Retail is the biggest advertiser vertical in global programmatic digital out-of-home (DOOH), accounting for $165m (12.4%) of spend in 2025, according to the latest report from the World Out of Home Organization (WOO).
The WOO Global pDOOH Expenditure Study 2026 also finds that more than a third (34.5% or $462m) of programmatic DOOH spend is now flowing through omni-channel platforms.
WOO president Tom Goddard described the findings as “encouraging” and “instructive”, adding that the omni-channel share signals that programmatic DOOH is “genuinely integrating into multi-channel planning”.
The shift towards omni-channel is particularly pronounced in consumer electronics, where 72% of programmatic DOOH spend flowed through omni-channel DSPs. For Gideon Adey, principal of consultancy GUROOH, this suggests the category is “integrating programmatic DOOH into cross-channel buys, not treating it as a stand-alone medium”.
Overall, OOH-specialist DSPs remained the dominant route, accounting for 65.5% ($877m).
WOO released its Global pDOOH Expenditure Study 2026 earlier this month, building on initial findings presented at the WOO annual summit in London earlier this year. WOO worked with 12 SSPs to provide global data, which PwC independently aggregated.
First global measure of pDOOH spend finds $1.4bn revenue generated in 2025
The findings also point to where investment could develop next. While outdoor dominates the venue mix for programmatic DOOH spend at 52.8% ($707m), WOO has identified retail media (17.1%) and transit (15.6%) as significant opportunities as screen estates and supply-side platform (SSP) connectivity mature.
By advertiser vertical, retail is closely followed by finance, which accounts for $161m (12.1%) of global spend, while business & industrial accounts for $130m (9.7%).
WOO suggests retail’s leading position likely stems from advertisers’ demand for proximity to stores, contextual relevance around shopping environments, and the ability to dynamically adapt creative to local inventory, pricing, and footfall conditions.
The report also links finance’s position to the sector’s longstanding use of OOH for brand building at scale, alongside the appeal of programmatic buying for proximity to branches and real-time campaign adjustment.
An additional four advertiser verticals – CPG, travel, vehicles, and food & beverage – take the total share of the seven largest categories to 62.1% of global programmatic DOOH spend. WOO said the breadth of categories shows that programmatic DOOH has moved beyond its early-adopted verticals into mainstream, multi-category adoption.
The report also finds that private marketplaces (PMPs) are the dominant buying mechanism, accounting for 75.7% ($1bn) of global programmatic DOOH spend. PMPs dominated across advertiser verticals and geographies, with EMEA recording the highest concentration at 86.7%.
Open auction or real-time bidding, where buyers bid for available inventory in real time, accounts for 17.4% ($232m), while programmatic guaranteed – where the price and amount of inventory are agreed in advance – accounts for 6.9% ($93m).
WOO attributes the dominance of PMPs to its ability to provide the control, transparency and brand safety that OOH buyers require.
Charles Parry-Okeden, VP and global lead of audience measurement and data at WOO, said the figures show the programmatic DOOH “did not become a scaled programmatic market by following digital’s playbook”, pointing to the dominance of PMPs and OOH-specialist DSPs.
He said the figures show the channel still primarily transacts through “nuance, expertise and relationships – not open auction”.
The Media Leader understands that WOO is expected to fund a further study covering 2026 expenditure, with the findings due to be presented in 2027.
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